Volume 6: Innovative Solutions for Energy Transitions: Part V

Analytical and Numerical Study on Solidification of Composite Phase Change Material in a Sphere Zhaoyang Niu, Xiaohu Yang*, Hailong Li, Liwen Jin

Abstract

Numerical and computational analyses of interface position during inward solidification of composite phase change materials (PCM) in spherical container were explored in this study. The applications of methods such as perturbation, strained coordinates and (improved) quasi-steady solution on spherical inward solidification were investigated and compared with the results of numerical simulation. The solidification positions of porous composite PCM with different porosities solved by strained coordinates and (improved) quasi-steady methods were compared when the Stefan number was 0.1. The complete solidification time was found to be rapidly shortened as the porosity decreased.

Keywords cold storage, metal foam, inward solidification, sphere, analytical solution